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On the subject of death and talking about it, I’m inclined to disagree with T.J.’s claim that we, as a culture, don’t consider death enough. A great deal of media, art, literature, and cultural elements center around themes of death and the transience of life. Look at things such as the Harry Potter series, Star Wars, the Bible, Renaissance artwork, Shakespeare, and you find this as a very common theme throughout western culture, and perhaps even moreso in eastern culture. We are acutely aware of death and our temporary nature, and talking about it more would not make the thought any more pleasant. Death, at its core, is the end of opportunities, the termination of options, and as such it is a loss, which we fear. Dwelling on it further would not remove that fear, any more than obsessing over an upcoming open-mike set with untested material would make you feel less anxious about it. Sometimes it’s best to just accept the inevitable and let it go, occupying your mind with the here and now, while at the same time doing your best to be prepared for the future.

But then what if you say, “What about talking about how glad you are to still be alive? That’s positive.” Yes, it is, but that’s sort of a semantic cheat, because you’re not really talking about death anymore. There’s never been any stigma about saying, “I’m thankful to be alive and healthy”, and in many circles, people are encouraged say that sort of thing regularly. So if we’re counting that within the definition of “talking about death”, then T.J.’s original lament that nobody is willing to talk about death becomes false. People are free to talk comfortably about death, but mainly in the context of life. However, if you’re looking for people to feel comfortable with the casually morbid discussion of death itself, well that’s just incompatible with human nature. Not because of any artificial stigma, but because the subject forces us to focus our attention on an inevitable future loss, disrupting our enjoyment of the present. Or, in less words, a “buzz-kill”.

I LUV this PODCAST!! There is only one thing I would change and that would be to have more of them.:) These two guys make me laugh out loud more than anything else I listen too. FULL ON BELLY LAUGHS !! Their friendship is something to celebrate, it makes you wish you had someone so clever and funny to call a friend. These things are rare and these guys have ‘recorded’ their hilarious conversations for all of us to enjoy. THANK YOU!! Big fan in Phoenix @bytewrite

I totally agree with TJ about the talking about death thing. I felt like he was describing it exactly how I describe this to people. When you get in an argument about something mundane try to remember that you are going to die!